What's The Drawback? lateralis

[spykerherps]

I Keep and breed mealies and dubia and was looking for another feeder I could breed for our growing collection. (no luck with king mealies yet) Was considering Blatta lateralis.

What are the drawbacks to keeping B. lateralis (Pros/ Cons) from people who have or do keep them?

 

[[email protected]]

They are a lot faster than Dubia, some geckos won't bother because of that. They breed about 2x as fast as dubia, so expect a population explosion. They are also egg layers, they don't not take the egg sac back inside their body. Instead, it lays out in the open, and might not hatch if humidity isn't kept up. Sometimes they get eaten as well, but like I said they breed twice as fast so you won't even notice. I like them, mainly because of how fast they breed, no climbing, are sexually dimorphic (males have wings, females don't, and also a significant color difference) and about the size of an adult cricket.

 

[Nigel4less]

Males can Fly, they are escape artists... But if you can manage to contain them then they are great!

 

[brothaT]

Not only do they breed twice as fast as dubias, they also mature twice as fast. They are much less likely to freeze when threatened and they seem to be constantly moving around. I've found the babies can scale the side of a plastic bin very well so extra protection like tape or grease on the top helps. Also, as said before, having them sexually dimorphic is a great advantage in having more control over the colony.

 

[gothra]

Males can Fly, they are escape artists... But if you can manage to contain them then they are great!

Do you mean they jump and flutter their wings? Or do you really mean they can fly short distances? I'm also considering starting a lateralis colony, but if they can fly, I'll probably give up the idea.

Actually, how fast are they? Which one is easier: catch an adult male cricket with tweezer vs catching a lateralis with tweezer? Just want to have an idea on their speed...

 

[spykerherps]

Thanks Everyone.

I found out the hard way that male dubias can fly too if kept hot enough . I kept finding loose males around my old apartment. and hoped I had found the last one the day we moved out. so know we go with secure screen tops on our roach bins.

 

[[email protected]]

Do you mean they jump and flutter their wings? Or do you really mean they can fly short distances? I'm also considering starting a lateralis colony, but if they can fly, I'll probably give up the idea.

Actually, how fast are they? Which one is easier: catch an adult male cricket with tweezer vs catching a lateralis with tweezer? Just want to have an idea on their speed...

I've never seen mine fly up. But it would be way easier catching adult crickets than adult lateralis